Deira

For other uses, see Deira (disambiguation).

Deira (Old English: Derenrice (Scandinavian: Deren Riket; Germanic Deren Reich) or Dere) was a kingdom in Northern England during the 6th century AD. It extended from the Humber to the Tees, and from the sea to the western edge of the Vale of York. It later merged with the kingdom of Bernicia to the north to form the kingdom of Northumbria.

The name of the kingdom is of Brythonic origin, perhaps from Deifr, meaning "waters", or from Daru, meaning "oak", in which case it would mean "the people of the Derwent", a derivation also found in the Latin name for Malton, Derventio.^[1]

List of Bernician, Deiran, and Northumberland Rulers from AD 547 (from an 1834 book).^[2]

According to Simeon of Durham it extended from the Humber to the Tyne, but the land was waste north of the Tees. After the Brythonic kingdom centered around Eboracum, which may have been called Ebrauc, was taken by Edwin, the city of Eboracum became its capital and was called Eoforwic (boar-place) by the Angles. Before this it is likely that the capital would have been at or near Pocklington.

The first Deiran Anglian king of whom we have any record is Ælla, who flourished in the later 6th century after conquering the realm from the Britons in 581. After his death, Deira was subject to king Æthelfrith of Bernicia, who united the two kingdoms into Northumbria. Æthelfrith ruled until the accession of Ælla's son Edwin, in 616 or 617, who also ruled both kingdoms until 633.

Osric, the nephew of Edwin, ruled Deira after Edwin, but his son Oswine was put to death by Oswiu in 651. For a few years subsequently Deira was governed by Æthelwald son of Oswald of Bernicia.

Bede wrote of Deira in his Historia Ecclesiastica.

Kings of Deira

See also: List of monarchs of Northumbria

Reign	Incumbent		Notes
559/560 to 589	Aella (Aelli)	ÆLLA YFFING DEIRA CYNING ÆLLA REX DEIRA
589/599 to 604	Aethelric (Aedilric)	ÆÞELRIC IDING BERNICIA 7 DEIRA CYNING ÆÞELRIC REX BERNICIA ET DEIRA
Bernician Dynasty
593/604? to 616	Aethelfrith	ÆÞELFERÞ ÆÞELRICING DEIRA CYNING ÆÞELFERÞ REX DEIRA	Killed in battle
Deira Dynasty
616 to 12/14 October 632	Edwin	EDVVIN ÆLLING BERNICIA 7 DEIRA CYNING EDVVIN REX BERNICIA ET DEIRA	Killed in battle by Cadwallon of Gwynedd and Penda of Mercia
late 633 to summer 634	Osric	OSRIC ÆLFRICING DEIRA CYNING OSRIC REX DEIRA
633 to 5 August 642	Oswald	OSVVALD BERNICIA 7 DEIRA CYNING OSVVALD REX BERNICIA ET DEIRA	Killed by Penda, King of Mercia; Saint Oswald
642 to 644	Oswiu	OSVVIO ÆÞELFRIÞING BERNICIA 7 DEIRA CYNING OSVVIO REX BERNICIA ET DEIRA
644 to 651	Oswine	OSVVINE OSRICING DEIRA CYNING OSVVINE REX DEIRA	Murdered
summer 651 to late 654 or 655	Æthelwold	ÆÞELVVALD OSVVALDING DEIRA CYNING ÆÞELVVALD REX DEIRA
654 to 15 August 670	Oswiu	OSVVIO ÆÞELFERÞING NORÞANHYMBRA CYNING OSVVIO REX NORÞANHYMBRA	Restored
656 to 664	Alchfrith	ALCHFRIÞ DEIRA CYNING ALCHFRIÞ REX DEIRA
670 to 679	Aelfwine	ÆLFVVINE DEIRA CYNING ÆLFVVINE REX DEIRA

References

Notes

1. ^ N. J. Higham, The Kingdom of Northumbria AD 350-1100, p. 81
2. ^ Mackenzie, E.; Ross, M. (1834), An Historical, Topographical, and Descriptive View of the County Palatine of Durham, I, Newcastle upon Tyne: Mackenzie and Dent, p. xi, http://books.google.com/?id=azEQAAAAYAAJ, retrieved 2008-07-23 

Further reading

• Geake, Helen & Joanthan Kenny (eds.) (2000). Early Deira: Archaeological studies of the East Riding in the fourth to ninth centuries AD. Oxford: Oxbow. ISBN 1-9001-8890-2
• Higham, N.J. (1993). The Kingdom of Northumbria AD 350-1100. Stroud: Sutton. ISBN 0-8629-9730-5